Watchful Eyes
by ToadKill3r
Summary: This is my first time writing a fan fiction. I love the Elder Scrolls series, so I chose Skyrim. This is the first chapter in an origin story for my two main characters entitled Watchful Eyes. Please cut me some slack.
1. Chapter 1

Ch.1

It was already supper time when Noland's father came home from work. The open door brought in a gust of wind from a harsh Skyrim winter. Noland's father, Vindil Englica, worked at the lumber mill. It was hard work that brought little pay, and he was usually in a grumpy mood when he came home. He was always in a grumpy mood. When Noland's family sat down for dinner, things were quiet like they always were. Whenever his mother asked a question about work, Vindil would answer with no more than one or two words. That evening was very silent. When it was time for bed, Noland went to his room. He liked to sleep with his door open a little bit, so the light from the fire in the main hall would shine in. He laid in his bed thinking about his mother. For a seven year old boy, he wasn't really sheltered form many things. He understood that his parents weren't the happiest of people, and he worried about them a lot. After a short while, his eyes finally came to a close. It was early when they opened again, and it was dark in his house. Without a fire going in the main hall, things were cold and dark…nothing but dark. He laid in his bed for as long as he could before he couldn't bear it anymore. He got out of bed and walked to his window. His eyes were heavy but he couldn't go to sleep. No matter how hard he tried, he would always wake up in the middle the night. He was used to it now, but it was frightening when he was very little. Even as a baby, he would wake his parents up every night, crying. They could never explain it, and still can't to this day. Of course, his mother and father assumed it stopped years ago. Noland never knew what possessed him to wake up every night, but he never really let it get to him. He always enjoyed looking at the moons and the stars.

There was a spider on Noland's window sill. It was a big brown spider, with two larger eyes and three tiny ones on either side of them. It looked at Noland, as if it had been watching him sleep. Noland poked its web and it moved little bit, as if it were waiting to see if he would do it again. Noland poked the web again. This time the spider moved quickly. It bit Noland on the finger. It stung a little, but Noland paid no mind to it. He squashed the spider, getting its insides everywhere. Since he couldn't get back to bed, Noland wandered out into the main hall. The embers in the fire place still faintly glowed red. He sat down and started stirring them around with a stick off of the ground. He felt a breeze on his neck and turned to see what it was. The door was cracked open, which was usual. His father was careless and left it open very often. Noland went to go close it. When he got to the door, he peeked outside to see the stars. Only, there was something else that caught his attention. A small dog was sitting at the edge of their fence. What was it doing? Noland opened the door further to investigate. He stepped out onto the grass and started walking towards it. It was very pretty, with a black coat and big black eyes. It just sat there, looking at Noland. When he got to the dog, he sat down and started petting it. It harmless enough. What could it do, lick him to death?

"What are you doing out here?" Noland asked the dog, who gave in to Noland's petting and laid on his back. He had never seen this dog before. Had it wandered into town? Was it lost? After a lengthy amount of petting, the dog leapt up and started walking away. There was a forest that bordered Noland's village. The dog walked into the trees without looking back. Noland was puzzled, but he didn't really think about it too much. He went back inside, by that time he was tired enough to fall back asleep. He passed the remains of the spider and fell into his bed. Sleep followed shortly after.

The next morning, Noland got out of bed and went to the kitchen. His mother had made breakfast and his father was already gone. He was used to not seeing his father very much.

"How are you, sweetie?" His mother asked him.

"I'm fine." He said. He sat at the table and fixed himself a plate of eggs. They were cold, but it made no difference to him. Once he was finished, he gave his mother the plate and went to his room. He took off his bedtime clothes and put on his normal clothes. Today was a brighter day than most. The sun was out and there weren't that many clouds in the sky. He went across the street to the smith. Frondir was already hard at work, making a sword.

"Hey there, Noland! How are you this morning?"

"I'm good, how are you." Noland replied in a voice that was much less booming than Frondir's.

"Well, I suppose good is good." Said Frondir. He knew that he was the closest thing to a friend that Noland had ever had, so he didn't mind at all when Noland stopped by during work. Which he often did.

"It sure is." Said Noland, who had taken his place at Frondir's side. He often came to help Frondir with his work. Bringing things here and there. One time, he even got to help him make a dagger.

Noland heard the sound of horses. There was a carriage coming into town. Noland looked up at Frondir, who had a look of approval on his face. Noland ran to the steps of the smith and sat down. He rarely got to watch people come through town, because hardly anyone did. The carriage was pulled by two, tall, strong horses. The man steering them was an Imperial. He looked down at Noland and grinned. The carriage stopped outside of the inn. The Imperial stepped down and opened the small doors. Out stepped a Wood Elf, and a rich one by the looks of it. He had a wife and son that came out after him. The son looked to be no older than Noland. They all walked inside the inn as the Imperial lead the horses to the stable. Noland didn't want to come off as nosey, so he didn't follow them into the inn. Although he wanted to meet the Wood Elf boy. He walked back over to Frondir, who was tempering the sword. Noland spoke over the sound of loud, metallic bangs.

"Who were those people?" Noland asked.

"I don't know." Said Frondir. "Whoever they were, they made no word of their arrival to us."

Later that night, Noland sat at the dinner table with his parents. It was quiet, as usual. Noland finally broke the silence.

"Mom, Dad…do you know who those people that came into town today were?"

"Bunch of damned elves. Nothing more to know about them." His father replied.

"I think I heard one of them say that they came through on their way to Falkreath." Said his mother.

The rest of the night went by very slowly. When it was finally time for bed, Noland was very anxious to see how long the Wood Elf family would be staying. He got in bed and laid there for what felt like an hour. Finally, he closed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2

It was already morning? It must have been, Frire heard people talking in the other room. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He wasn't used to this lifestyle. Always moving from town to town. Never being able to relax. He missed his bed at home, it was much more comfortable than the hard, unforgiving bed at this inn.

He got up and walked to the wardrobe. Today, he would wear the silk Doublet from the Imperial City. His favorite piece of clothing. He had to dress himself, which he wasn't used to. Awkwardly, he pushed his arms through the sleeves and started tying the back laces. He couldn't quite get it tied, however. Frire walked out of his room and into the main hall of the inn.

"Excuse me, sir" he said to the Innkeeper, "could you tie these laces. I can't get them myself."

"Frire!" Shouted Frire's father, Stavle Divnon. "Come here, right now!"

Frire walked over to his father, who quickly tied the laces of his doublet.

"You can't go around asking people to do those sorts of things for you." Stavle told Frire.

"But father, I do it at home all the time."

"Those people are our servants, Frire. We pay them to do those things."

"Why can't we just pay these people, too?"

By that time, the Innkeeper looked very angry. Stavle sent Frire on his way and apologized to him. The Nord did not like having anything to do with Elves.

Frire walked outside, it was snowing lightly. He was met by the beaming eyes of a young Nord. He looked about as old as Frire was. He was very muscular for his age.

"Hi, my name is Noland!" The Nord said with a toothy grin.

"Frire…nice to meet you."

"I saw you guys come into town yesterday. I didn't want to seem nosey, so I didn't follow you."

"Follow us where?"

"Into the inn! Sorry, that sounded weird, didn't it?" Noland was nervous and didn't want to chase Frire away.

"Well, we're staying here for a week or so. Then we're going to Falkreath."

"What for?"

"My father has some business to attend to there."

For the rest of the day, Noland and Frire got to know each other. Noland was very happy to know someone that was his age. Frire was interested to talk to someone who wasn't from his household. It was somewhat ironic, he had so many imported items, clothing and heirlooms, but he had never been away from home before.

Noland took Frire to meet Frondir, who had finished the sword and was now making a bow. Frire learned all about how the smith works and what Frondir does. He was very intrigued at the life of everyday people. Later, the two boys went to the edge of the woods and sat down. Noland told Frire all about his life, and Frire told Noland about his.

The day was coming to an end. It was time for the two boys to return to their parents. Frire went back to the inn. He watched Noland walk back to his house, to see where he lived. He stepped inside the inn, his parents sat at the dining table. Frire's Doublet was dirty and wet, but it didn't bother him in the slightest.

"Where have you been all day? And what happened to your clothes?" His father asked.

"I got to know one of the local children. His name is Noland."

"That's great!" His mother, Kindred, said. "Come, have a seat."

Frire's parents were very happy to hear that he had made a friend. He hadn't know more than 10 people in his life. This was good for him. They all sat and ate dinner, sharing how their days went.

Frire was very eager to see Noland again tomorrow. When it was time for bed, he put on his night garments and jumped under the blankets. He was soon reminded of how bad of an idea that was. The harsh, wooded frame of the bed and lack of cushioning had made Frire's knees sore from impact. After a short while, he drifted off to sleep.


End file.
